The CPES BobChat
March 20, 2022
What's Going on at Cherry Park This Spring?
Today is the first day of Spring. Flowers are blooming and temperatures are warming up. Here are some of our plans for Cherry Park this spring. 1. We have some big projects scheduled. Through the fundraising efforts of our PTO and parents and district capital funds, turf will be put down on our older students' playground over Spring Break. A 150 by 50 foot area will be turfed where our soccer field is currently. When we have bad weather, our play areas are too muddy for students to play on. This turf will increase the days our children can play outside. In addition, we are putting in a new sidewalk in our kindergarten playground so that our little ones can have a complete track for riding tricycles. This will help them play more safely each day. We appreciate your financial support for completing these two big projects. 2. We are planning to get outside more. Some of our grade levels have been and will be taking field trips. Third graders are going to the Museum of York County and fourth graders are going to Brattonsville. Fifth graders have already gone to the Carroll School. We plan to have a "normal" Field Day on May 24 (K-2nd) and May 25 (3rd-5th). We will need volunteers for that so please be sure you have a current background screening completed. Volunteers must have a new one completed every two years. See the following link for more info: https://www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us/Page/3391. I am sure there will be some additional visits to the Tennis Center and Cherry Park (The Park). Parents will be notified in advance anytime we leave campus. (Don't forget about the Come See Me Festival April 21-30 which will be another time to "get outside more.") Go to https://www.comeseeme.org/ 3. We will wrap up with end of year assessments. After Spring Break, we will do individual, small group and whole group assessments with our children to see how much they've grown as learners. I am always amazed at their progress and how well they do. (We had five students with perfect scores on state tests last year!!) Third, fourth and fifth graders will take SC READY (our big state achievement test) on the following dates:
May 3--3rd Grade English Language Arts (Writing)
May 5--3rd Grade English Language Arts (Reading)
May 10--4th and 5th English Language Arts (Writing)
May 12--4th and 5th English Language Arts (Reading)
May 17--3rd, 4th and 5th Math
May 19--4th Science
Please do all you can for your child to attend school on these dates. Children always do better taking their tests in their normal environment under normal conditions. Please reschedule any appointments you have on those days. Grades 1-5 will take their reading and math Measures of Academic Progress Test (which is an achievement test) on April 20-21. Third grade will wait to take the reading section of MAP on May 11. MAP measures the growth of students while SC READY measures how well students learned the state standards. 4. We will celebrate with our children. We are so proud of how resilient our children (and teachers) have been this year. We look forward to having fun with them as the year draws to a close. Our Fifth Grade Graduation will be Monday, May 23 at 9:00 in the Sullivan Auditorium. Parents and family members are invited to attend in person. Please keep in mind that all events scheduled are contingent upon COVID numbers staying low. We are planning for a busy, meaningful, fun, and challenging time of the year. We will need your help to coordinate events and prepare your child. We will keep you informed as events are put on the calendar. Thanks for your support of your child and our school.
Strength and Blessings,
Mr. Maness
Notes and Reminders
March Teacher Appreciation--We are so “LUCKY” to have our staff at Cherry Park! This month’s event will be sponsored by our 4th and 5th grade families! We will be doing a pizza lunch from Papa Johns. Sign up linked below. Please have everything dropped off to the office or monetary contributions submitted by end of day on Friday, March 25th. Thank you all for always loving on our teachers each month! Venmo: @Stephanie-Greer-29 https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D49A4A923AAFBC70-march1
Student Dress Code--Please help us by checking the appropriateness of your child's clothes. As temperatures turn warmer, our children will be wearing more shorts and short-sleeve shirts. Many of them have had growth spurts since last spring so last year's clothes may not meet our dress code as they did last spring. Please check this in advance. You can find our Dress Code on p. 7 in our Family Handbook in the link below.
4th and 5th Boys Running Club--Attention 4th and 5th grade boys' parents/guardians!
We are starting a boys' running program this week (March 15th) after school, 2:45 - 4pm at Cherry Park Elementary School. Purpose for our club will be three C's; Character, Conditioning and Coordination. Each lesson/training session focuses on building endurance and strength through running activities, introducing agility workouts and demonstrating positive character traits. If you or your 4th/5th grade son would be interested in this program, please complete the form below and if you have any questions contact me at eanderson@rhmail.org Form: https://forms.gle/tn1MagLR1m77HmjS9
District Challenger Summer Camp--Will be at Cherry Park Elementary this summer. Please see link below if you would like your child to attend.
STAMP Testing for Grades 3, 4 and 5--Will be through April 1. The STAMP test is used to assess student knowledge in French or Spanish in listening, speaking, reading and writing. It is administered by computer. Your child's teacher will notify you when he/she will take it.
Spring Pictures--Will be taken Tuesday, March 29. The online payment option will be available through Sunday, March 27. You can prepay with a credit card at http://www.carolinaphoto.net We will not be able to make change for any cash payments in the office or by the photographers. Order forms will be sent home the week before pictures are made as well. We are anticipating that the pictures will be back before Mother's Day.
Yearbooks--Are now on sale through Friday, April 8. All orders will be placed online. Softcover yearbooks will be $20 and hardcover yearbooks will be $25. We do not anticipate ordering extra yearbooks for sale at a later time. See attached flyer below for more information. Parents of 5th graders can purchase dedications and you can share pictures at the website as well. You can go to the following website to order a yearbook: https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/?event=general.displayLanding&jobnumber=24915
Helping with Litter Pickup at Cherry Park--We know that papers fall out of bookbags and the wind can easily blow trash from trash cans. We have also noticed that some of the litter in our drop off areas falls out of cars as the children get in and out of them. Please help us by regularly cleaning out the wrappers and papers from your floorboards so they don't fall out of your car. (This might be a good chore for your little one.) This will save us lots of time in picking it up and will help us keep our campus clean.
Newsletter Article Suggestions--Do you have suggestions for topics and questions that you'd like Mr. Maness to discuss in the newsletter? Always feel free to email him your ideas here: mailto:pmaness@rhmail.org
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School Calendar
March 21-April 1--STAMP Test for Grades 3, 4, and 5 (See info above.)
March 29--Spring Pictures
April 4-7--American Library Week
April 8--Last Day to Order a Yearbook
April 8-18--Spring Break
April 21-30--Come See Me Festival
April 21-22--1st through 5th Grades Taking Measures of Academic Progress Test
May 2-6--Teacher Appreciation Week
May 3--3rd Grade English Language Arts (Writing)
May 5--3rd Grade English Language Arts (Reading)
May 10--4th and 5th English Language Arts (Writing)
May 12--4th and 5th English Language Arts (Reading)
May 17--3rd, 4th and 5th Math
May 19--4th Science
May 23--Fifth Grade Graduation at 9:00 AM (Sullivan Auditorium)
May 24--K, 1st and 2nd Field Day
May 25--3rd, 4th and 5th Field Day
May 26--Last Student Day (Students are dismiss at 11:00)